Commercialization ruining music making

Marvin Gaye, Prince, Lenny Williams, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, and Fire are all names that live in music infamy. Still, these are only a few of the names of true musical artists and geniuses that have come and gone, gracing the music industry with their unique style of the art form.
Unfortunately, it seems that these names will be the last to have as much critical acclaim as they had in their day. In recent years the music industry has become more about the money and less about the art. Many artists go unnoticed or unappreciated because their lack of commercial appeal.
Artists such as India Arie, whose album “Acoustic Soul” was nominated for a Grammy and several Soul Train Music Awards, are looked over for the more marketable artists.
These artists that some consider surpassing the standards of average musicians are not recognized by consumers.
N’Danbi, former back-up singer for Erykah Badu, (whose albums received acclaim from Source Magazine), stays an obscure name in the music world.
Groups like The Roots, who have released several albums in the past, have just made it to the “popular” music scene, making them marketable.
The Roots, and former member Jaguar Wright have a new Coke-Cola commercial.
Another unrecognized artist whose musical career is going in the opposite direction is Lauren Hill. After receiving a record number of Grammy’s for her album, “The Mis-Education of Lauryn Hill,” Hill is working her way out of the mainstream.
Barefoot, with just her guitar on MTV unplugged, Hill played herself into tears as the audience watched her perform dozens of new pieces.
This performance although, decidedly one of Hill’s best, was not accepted widely by audiences.
It seems that the music industry has become just that, an industry. Based on money and not on the advancement of the art form, it has left dozens of talented artists out of the picture andpassed over for more appealing and commercially marketable performers.
Amazing how something so deep as music, that touches the hearts and souls of so many has become such a superficial entity in the world. Let’s hope what we listen to doesn’t reflect where we’re going.